Manny Cid, Maribel Balbin among potential candidates
Miami-Dade School Board Member Perla Tabares Hantman, who has served in that capacity for almost three decades, will not seek re-election. She made the announcement days after a Miami Lakes man tied to Gov. Ron DeSantis and charter schools filed to run against her.
We knew she wasn’t going to last long without the arm of Superintendent Alberto Carvalho to hang on.
Las malas lenguas say that friends and supporters told Tabares — who had filed re-election paperwork on April 4 — that it was better to bow out gracefully than fight a campaign that could get nasty. They also say she has a preferred candidate — a Republican woman who is an educator.
That might be Claudia Luces, a Miami Lakes activist and teacher at Miami Lakes Educational Center, a magnet school, who was appointed to the town’s education advisory board — which she chaired many years ago — just last month by Councilwoman Marilyn Ruano.
Read related: Miami-Dade School Board veteran Perla Tabares Hantman draws challenger
And then there was this cryptic selfie posted on her social media March 31. Yep, that’s the Miami-Dade Elections Department behind Luces, who sources say is BFFs with the board member.
Roberto Alonso, a real estate developer and lobbyist who helped develop software for charter schools, is the only one who has filed paperwork for the seat so far. But now that it’s an open seat, a rare and golden opportunity for elected office, there is going to be more interest. Besides, nobody wants Alonso to just walk into it.
Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid said he has been approached by multiple people urging him to run and could jump into the race. And Maribel Balbin, former president of the League of Women Voters of Miami-Dade, said she is considering a run.
“Following the announcement by Chairwoman Perla Tabares Hantman that she will not be seeking another term in office, after so ably representing the public interests for so many years, many people have expressed concerns about the future representation of District 4 on the school board,” Balbin said last week. “I am forming an exploratory committee in the coming days to evaluate the possibility of becoming a candidate.”
Read related: Miami-Dade School Board brings back Jose Dotres as new superintendent
Balbin, 67, has worked in government for at least 15 years, first at the South Florida Water Management district and then at the Miami-Dade County Office of Sustainability from 2005 to 2013. Since then she’s been president at Public Affairs Concepts, which means she’s a government consultant and does public outread. She is also president of the Women’s Speaker’s Bureau and works tirelessly to engage and empower women in business and politics.
“My community involvement has provided leadership opportunities with a focus on encouraging participation in the democratic process,” Balbin said.
And, importantly to the school board contest, she’s a public schools product. Her daughter went to public school. Her grandchildren go to public schools in the district, where she’s lived for 30 years.
“I believe that public education continues to be a cornerstone of American democracy and a way to equalize opportunity for all citizens,” she told Ladra.
Mayor Cid, 38, is a product of private school, specifically Monsignor Edward Pace High (class of 2002) and works at Horeb Christian Academy as “guest lecturer” on civics and government and also as head basketball coach. Before he became mayor in 2016, he was a councilman before that he served seven years as senior legislative aide to two Florida state reps, Ralph Arza for a year and then Eddy Gonzalez.
Cid has been a mostly fair and effective mayor, bringing Miami Lakes back from the brink of hell under former Mayor Michael Pizzi. He’s very accessible — has his own popular café in the town — and pretty stainfree.
Read related: Miami Lakes voters toss Michael Pizzi out for Manny Cid
Friends have long said that this was Cid’s next step and that he was waiting for Tabares Hantman to resign rather than run against her. But then again, everyone always wants Cid to run for everything. He’s long been the rumored candidate for this House seat and that Senate seat. Like he’s a universal politician you can plug in anywhere.
Yet, Cid seemed reluctant when Ladra spoke to him this past week.
“I’ve been listening to the educators and students in the area, but yeah, I have two and a half years left in my term and I’m committed to the people of Miami Lakes,” Cid told Ladra.
“While I’m contemplating it, the reality is the best person is principal Carlos Alvarez,” Cid said, referring to Miami Lakes Councilman Carlos Alvarez.
The mayor has started a drumroll in the community for Alvarez, who has both public school experience — as teacher and then assistant principal at Jose Marti Middle School — and in the private sector where he is now as principal at City of Hialeah Educational Academy (COHEA), a charter school he helped found in 2008. He might be the perfect hybrid, but he has, so far, rejected the notion.
Everyone has until noon June 17 to qualify for the $45,000-a-year job.
The other seats up this year are District 2, where incumbent Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall is facing a challenge from La-Shanda West. Incumbents Marta Perez and Maria Teresa Rojas (sister-in-law to Congressman Carlos Gimenez) have not drawn challenges — yet. Las malas lenguas say that the local and state Republicans are going to find opponents for both women, who voted in favor of masks and not lockstep with the governor’s agenda. These seats are non partisan but that’s on paper only.
And there’s going to be another open race soon. Member Christy Fraga is running for mayor of Doral and would have to resign, causing for either an appointment or special election to fill that seat. It should be the latter. Can’t Fraga time it so that her replacement can be elected on the same ballot?
Perla Tabares Hantman bows out and Miami-Dade School Board race ignites added by Ladra on
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[…] Hantman gave them a win early when she retired rather than face a challenge from a well-funded Roberto Alonso, who has some of the same PACs […]
[…] him up as strongly as, say, Member Lubby Navarro did. The other two were Perla Tabares Hantman, who resigned rather than campaign against a Miami Lakes resident Robert Alonso, who was handpicked by the guv’s camp and already […]
[…] him up as strongly as, say, Member Lubby Navarro did. The other two were Perla Tabares Hantman, who resigned rather than campaign against a Miami Lakes resident Robert Alonso, who was handpicked by the guv’s camp and already […]
News in Hialeah is that Monica Perez should be the one running. She truly is the only qualified person for that position. She’s a teacher and already held office not like that miami lakes guy. We all know PH would want a lady there also!
Once the corrupt Super left, his enabling minions are set to go also.
They can no longer strong arm vendor’s for foundation donations.
Let’s see if LA takes his shinnanigans.
Ladra,
Manny is a bullshitter. He will never be voted again for any other political office. His handling of the NW 154th Street bridge and NW 170th Street will not be forgotten. He also rigged the hiring of Ed Piedermann who was not qualified to be selected as Town Manager. Yet Manny Cid’s and former Council member Nelson Rodriguez rigged the process. Manny’s friendship with Ed and both being former alumni’s from Pace High was too much to pass over. Nelson being a firefighter just like Ed was also too much as the fire fighter brothers takes care of another.
They should all work for Solid Waste, because the threesome are garbage.
I’ve never understood why you could work in the school and still run for the school board too. Seems like it’s the hens watching the hen house. They can run for most any other office too. There was a school teachers who ran and was elected to go to Tallahassee all while collecting her school teacher salary (and her House rep pay)
It’s futile to blame teachers, for the supposed reading and composition deficiencies of our local youth, in addition to it being an exaggeration. Today’s parents are careful to send students to school with a trendy model of cellular phone, and that makes the value of pencils and erasers less. And our culture’s changed, boys and girls can’t browse on father’s copy of the local press, because there isn’t any. It used to be that one could progress from the simpler, to the more complex, to the extent of one’s ability.
Now we have a real race!!! Who will the electorate choose? Definitely will be a republican. The demon-rats have shown that they tax and spend. But, which GOP’r has what it takes to sway the voters. We’ve got Robert Alonso with his mega support from the Governor and that will be HUUUGE. Not to mention the $$$$ from the charter schools that can’t wait to get their hands on the funds from miamidade school board. And his pal in Hiyageah will probably support him, since real estate and $$$$ is the common denominator.
Then you have an unknown named Claudia. The article says she is a GOP and being a woman, it may be enough to convince voters.
Yet we have Manuelito, who I am convinced writes on this thread under multiple names. He is probably the smartest of the bunch. He has been effective in reaching to all voters with his smiles and pleasant personality. Unfortunately, its deceiving, pero pero, the average Juan and Juana cannot tell the difference of being a fake professional politician or a true reformer.
Then we have Ms. Balbin and can she muster enough support from those who are loyal to The Pearl? Can she beat the republican machine.
As my anglo friends say, veremos
Please have Maribel run for this spot so we can unmask her leftest ways. No chance in hell that she can win especially in Hialeah. Cid outside the lakes is a nobody.
Perla Tabares Hantman should be embarrassed. She did a terrible job. Have you noticed our youth can barely read and write?
The Miami-Dade County School Board forces taxpayers to pay almost $6 Billion per year. The School Board makes $6 Billion per year “disappear”. Yet most students are barely literate. (That means they cannot read or write.)
Perla bows out because she was going to be embarrassed by her election results. Maribel or whatever her name is tell her to please run so she can be torn apart especially in Hialeah for her leftest views. The other two in Miami lakes aren’t running. Tell Manny The Cid to stop giving you false information. Please Manny run so we can get you out of politics permanently.
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